GaMM BEFORE the Credits Season Two
by gaylesam
Summary: Oh, I had hoped the Yahoo group would have begun their own exploration of season two for Ghost and Mrs. Muir but since that hasn't happened, here's my own thoughts about what was happening BEFORE each of those episodes
1. The Great Power Failure - His View

He paced slowly across the widow's walk. In the many months since Tim Seagirt's departure, in the seemingly unending hours following his denial to Carolyn Muir, the whole nature of life (or in his case, the after-life) had ground down to a series of slow, stilted and painful moments.

Previously, at the sound of her laughter, he would have popped into the parlor to make some comment or gesture invisible to most of the family, another moment that they would share together and laugh about when they were alone.

He stood, hands clenched over the railing facing the ocean, but with everything invisible except for the sound of the easy banter between Mrs. Muir and her housekeeper. With an incautious phase, or perhaps moment of cowardice or even fear, he had lost it all.

It would have been so simple, as he recalled that moment after Seagirt had at long last completed his song, to have told her of his love, her perfection and finally admit to a longing that he knew he would never be able to conquer. Yet, he said nothing, offered no words of love or assurance. He tossed off the whole episode as a mere ancillary point, just part of his all too checkered past.

Pacing, again, hands clasped firmed behind his back, he let himself regretfully recall her reaction, or rather lack of reaction. She had looked dreamily up at him, telling him that his poem was lovely. How he wished he had responded in kind. Instead, he told her the words were not meant for her, for some other woman in the 'long ago' world. He remembered how she vacantly sat fingering her pearls, her eyes slowly filling with pain and how she finally, politely nodded his direction and walked away to say her farewells to Seagirt.

He had regretted it instantly, but somehow they never were able to revisit the moment, the song and all it meant again. In the hours, the days and months later, their relationship had reformed, but in a cold, brittle manner. He clearly was nothing but an adelpated fool. This lovely, warm and beautiful woman, damaged by what had clearly been years of difficult marriage, had opened herself to him. Despite her fears, she had thawed a bit, and when he had denied his feelings so abruptly, without explanation, Carolyn Muir had made the only reasonable, sensible choice. She had drawn back, protected herself, and walled herself off from him, the man who tempted her with love and then whisked it away from her without a word of explanation.

Sighing, he heard the phone ring and gathered from the one sided conversation his peace at Gull Cottage was to be further disrupted. Enough was quite enough, he had left her alone and now, perhaps this latest kafuffle would give the two of them a chance to find each other once again.


	2. The Great Power Failure - Her View

Sighing to herself, she rested a weary hand on the door knob. She had intended to walk out onto the porch but the flood of memories made her pause. A mere 24 hours ago, she had stepped out into a magically romantic moment. The moonlit night, the soft breeze and her fingers a whisper away from a man, or at least the illusion of a man who filled her waking and sleeping hours with so many romantic wishes and dreams.

And today? Whatever it was she thought they shared, had dreamed they shared had disappeared faster than Tim Seagirt's van heading south down the coast road. Yanking the door open, she let the wind from the approaching storm blast around her, and stepped out into the gloom closing the big door solidly behind her. "Idiot," she muttered to herself, as she wrapped the jacket tighter around her as she headed out into the yard.

"Never, never again. . ." she hissed aloud, until the sound of the wind and waves made her voice swirl away into the mist. The subject of her monologue was entirely unaware of her solitary storm watch, as first he sat berating himself and then in frustration began to pace the attic, uncertain which was the greatest failure, his cowardice, his inability to declare himself once Seagirt's song, or rather Seagirt's performance of HIS song had ended or being unable to correct his course once he knew how badly wrong he had gone.

In the weeks, the months that followed that musical moment, she changed her habits, only sitting in the occupied 'public' rooms, so there was no opportunity for private conversations with the Captain. True, Martha began to wonder if the young widow was finally admitting to being lonely, as the two women were rarely out of each other's sight. Of course Martha didn't ask, and Carolyn didn't offer, so neither one commented on why articles were now being written in the parlor, instead of at the desk in the master cabin.

The children also noticed the change, and Jonathan attempted to find out why his two favorite people in his world no longer had quiet afternoon chats, why they never seemed to even spend time together any longer. In the midst of his confusion, one day surprisingly Candy began to casually talk about her own conversations with the Captain. It was never quite clear how the introduction had been made, but whatever the circumstances, Jonathan accepted it without concern, and Carolyn without a single word of comment.

They continued in this primarily silent, distant world throughout the summer. For a small time, as they spent vacation weeks back with her family, she seriously considered giving up the perfect writer's getaway she had found in Gull Cottage. Finally though, they returned with Carolyn's renewed promise to herself that she would make the reality of their 'live-in' ghost an onerous duty to be dealt with for the benefit of her children.

On a warm, early autumn afternoon, when the phone rang, she was glad of the interruption, and when she understood that, willing or not, she was now the hostess for the upcoming PTA meeting she almost welcomed the chance to show her total indifference and disregard for Captain Daniel Gregg during the inevitable argument to come. Had she been willing to admit it to herself, she was equally pleased to have an excuse to talk with him, but truthfully she had buried that impulse so deeply it would have taken more time than she would allow to realize the truth that was also buried in her heart.


	3. Centennial - a new understanding

The next afternoon, as she sat silently in the alcove off the parlor, she tapped absently at the typewriter keys. The echo of his words played again and again across her memory. "_No Madam, the nearest I've ever come to a family is now. I suppose if you must put up with those babbling women I must too_." How was it possible, after so many contentious months that he had uncovered the one perfect way to arouse her feelings, to touch her heart again?

Rolling her eyes, a definitely unladylike snort escaped her. To her amazement, once the ladies had left, it was abundantly clear that the Captain had meant what he had promised. She knew him far too well to doubt the honesty of his words. Clearly, she and the children were the nearest thing he had ever had to a family for himself and he was going to, yet again, treat them as the dearest people in his life.

'Was it fear?' she thought sitting in the quiet sunshine. Surely as they inched closer to one another, as their feelings became more obvious, more profound, the risk was more clearly defined. 'Was he afraid of losing me, losing all of us if he admitted. . .' she paused as she heard the phone ring in the entryway. "His love?" she whispered aloud, eyes wide as she began to challenge every negative thought, every painful assumption she had held after Seagirt left Gull Cottage after singing that that song, 'his song' she smiled as she recalled the afternoon and the look she had seen in the Captain's eyes that day.

"Mrs. Muir," Martha called out, "It's Claymore about the Centennial Games, he says the planning meeting has been moved up to this afternoon! 2pm sharp!"

Shaking her head, Carolyn Muir stepped out into the parlor. Looking up at the Captain's portrait, she snorted again. "Idiot, I'm still an idiot," she laughed softly to herself. "MARTHA," she called out, "Tell him I'll be there, and he can count on my support he asked for of the Gregg family name!"

Glancing back up at the portrait, she allowed herself a quiet grin just for herself, 'How could I have missed it? How could I have so completely misunderstood? You told me why Vanessa wasn't the one to hold your heart; you shared how hard it was to love after all you endured in your youth. How could I not understand you were scared? "

Bending over she picked up the papers and her notes, "And you weren't the only one," she sighed quietly allowing herself another peek toward the painting, "so we begin again, but you won't fool me again Daniel Gregg. If you are ready, so am I!"


	4. There's a Seal in My Bathtub

Each of the three held a rather distinct feeling about the Centennial Games and as they explored how the events of those few days affected them, the answers were quite different, and surprising.

The next morning, as he buttoned the top button of his shirt, Claymore bent to rub an aching spot on his calf. "Sure – he makes me win the award, but I get all the aches and pains. What does HE get to feel?" Pausing, he peered into his mirror, tilting his glasses down and staring into his eyes, he nodded to himself, "What does he get to feel? It's obvious, isn't it?" Picking up the uniform hat off the dresser, he spun it around in his hands. "He gets to feel manly, powerful, a true man's man. It has to be true, how else could he also have the most beautiful woman in Schooner Bay? The look in her eyes when we were dancing, well when ALL of us were dancing," he sighed aloud, "it was obvious, wasn't it?" Holding out his arms, and beginning a waltz with a phantom partner, he counted out, "One, two, thre. . OW!" as he whacked his toe against the bed frame. Flopping on the edge of the bed, he nursed his toe, grumbling to himself. "I could show her, be a manly man, in my own way of course . . ." he paused as the phone rang and he hobbled over to pick it up. "Whoever you are don't you know how early it is?" Tilting his head he paused, listening, "Delbert, what in the world do you expect ME to do? Start a posse and go seal hunting? What am I a cave man?" Standing up at attention, he smiled to himself, "No actually, I AM the man for the job. Meet you at the quayside in an hour." Hanging up the phone, his eyes took on a suspiciously conniving look, "today, I WILL be a real Gregg, battling the forces of nature and destruction! Now where are my Cocoa Puffs?" Leaning over, he picked up the cereal bowl and let himself dream of facing danger and showing Carolyn Muir what an admirable man he truly could be.

Fortunately, Carolyn Muir was totally unaware of the impact the previous evening had upon her landlord. In fact her thoughts, as she swirled around the master cabin, holding her evening dress in front of her, were entirely focused upon the sea captain that Claymore so clearly resented. Humming a waltz, she carefully hung up the costume in the closet, stood in the early morning sunshine in her favorite yellow silk nightgown, and waltzed quietly over to her desk where she reviewed her notes for a story in progress. Picking up a pencil, she made careful check marks at various points as she scanned the page, "Sailors instead of 'seamen', yep, that'll get him. Saying they were in a storm instead of a 'squall', guaranteed to upset. Walls, not 'bulkhead' - he'll be furious I didn't remember that one!" Turning the page face down by the typewriter, her mischievous grin grew wider as she settled into her desk chair. It has taken her a while to figure a way to restart their friendly arguing, their companionable bantering after the PTA episode. And now, after having more or less spent the previous evening dancing in his arms, she was even more dedicated to the idea. "Nothing more fun than making up after a fight," she whispered, standing up to open the curtains, "it won't be everything I could hope for, but at least I get to hope again!"

A few months ago, the Captain and Carolyn might have been able to sense their connection on the topic, but in the troubled time after Seagirt left Gull Cottage they might have been in another universe, another network of reality. Now that they seemed set on calmer seas, Daniel Gregg equally looked forward to resuming their previous close relationship. Without realizing it, he also was humming the same waltz softly coming from the master cabin. He had clearly disappointed Jonathan and Candy when he declined to join them on their shoreside adventure, but now nothing was going to dissuade him. Their waltz, despite the uncomfortable necessity of Claymore also being present there, or rather their waltzes the previous night had shown him they could renew their connection. Now that the day had begun, and the children were out and about, he wanted to take every advantage of having her to himself, and he sat impatiently in the attic, waiting for her to arise. While he honestly hadn't a clue about what his next step would be, he trusted the beautiful day outside would present its own inspiration in due time.


	5. Double Trouble

"George. Is that how low I have fallen, to settle on George? "Carolyn wasn't even aware she was speaking aloud as she prepared for her dinner with the disparaged 'George'. "Yet, if I don't get out of this house, if I don't try to have my own life, I'll be forever trailing after him like a lost, lonely puppy – damn you Daniel Gregg!" she grumbled to herself, pounding her fist on the dresser. "Why in the world couldn't I find a real life living, breathing, touchable, putting the emphasis on touchable I think, Daniel Gregg? Tossing her hairbrush down, she began to pace the master cabin, arms flailing in frustration. "OK, yes, sure fine, he'll never be able to be here, and cannot ever be mine. So why shouldn't I look elsewhere for my happiness?" Making a face in her mirror, she shrugged her shoulders and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "And if I'm right, if it all works out, I won't be the lost, lonely puppy. Be warned Daniel Gregg, it's about time for you to know what it is like to discarded, to be set aside. And if I'm right, things will be quite different between us soon. But until then, bleech – George!"

Squaring her shoulders, she marched to the door and closed it firmly behind her, entirely unaware she left behind an invisible and incredibly intrigued ghost standing on the landing. "Thank the heavens," he muttered to himself, "I had assumed her taste in company, in men particular was at a record low." Stroking his beard, the twinkle in his eye showed his pleasure and expectation regarding the challenge she had put into action. "I may not be able to be all you wish for Mrs. Muir, but let's not leave you wondering about my intentions, my interest . . . time to begin the battle of the suitors!" Hearing a knock at the front door, he disappeared to rout the sad excuse of a rival Martha had just let enter their home. In a few moments, this pallid excuse of a man would be on his way, and the battle would be officially underway!


	6. Today, I am a Ghost

Standing at attention, watching the children in the yard through the balcony window, the Captain slowly allowed himself the opportunity to collect his thoughts. He had been anxious to finish their conversation after that Irish rogue had left Schooner Bay, but it had taken some time until he and the lady of the house were quite on their own. Clearing his throat, or giving a clear indication of his intention to speak about something important, he waited until her gaze met his. "So Madam, surely now that your Irish 'suitor' has departed, shall we assume normal life resumes again here at Gull Cottage?" Looking back down at her typewriter, Carolyn allowed herself a wry smile, "So, you thought of him as a suitor, did you? I was under the impression you weren't willing to let any living man assume that role." Smiling up at him she continued, "Was I wrong?" The sudden snap of his head her direction told her all she needed to know, but happily let him respond in his own time. "Suitor? Well, indeed Madam, to have a suitor, one must imagine you to be open, or available to such intentions. I hope that I am mistaken, that I have not correctly understood you here. Surely the idea that you would be seeking other male companionship, other men in your life, that is mistaken, I would assume?"

Standing, she looked slyly up at him, "And that would, I believe, require that you and I had spoken clearly and with unmistakable clarity abut our mutual feelings. And you must admit that has yet to occur, don't you agree?"

Wide eyed he stood silently and looked at her with great intensity. Responding in kind, she merely nodded and moved toward the door of the master cabin. "When do you feel equal to that conversation Captain, let me know, will you?" Moving briskly, she closed the door, and with a beguiling smile, she headed downstairs. Remembering to close his mouth, Daniel Gregg allowed himself a quick moment of laughter, "And that's why I could never let her go." he muttered aloud. "That eternal give and take, the challenge she provides without hesitation, how could I not be in lov . ." He stopped at the crashing sound exploded through the window and the baseball sped through his head and on to her dresser.

Hearing the sound, Carolyn dashed out into the yard. 'Hardly romantic,' she thought to herself, 'but predictably part of family life, I wonder how he'll cope with this?' As she opened the door, and crossed over to the children, she allowed herself peek up at the balcony and wondered how their 'father' would cope with this part of being a parent.


	7. Madam Candidate

"Can you truly mean this?" The Captain said, clearly incredulous as he held the draft of her article in his hand. "At long last you admit the superiority of men? I must congratulate you on setting your feminine stubbornness aside, and if I understand this copy correctly, you are publicly stating the logic of masculine supremacy, I congratulate you M'dear!" Smiling with satisfaction, he set her pages on the desk beside her and turned around to peer through the telescope on the binnacle, "A woman intelligent to know she cannot compete with a man," he continued, "now that's someone to be appreciated!"

Peering through the glass behind her, the Captain missed her crossed eyes and the steady frustrated tapping of a single key on her empty typewriter. Closing her eyes and clearing counting at least to 10 to recapture her temper, Carolyn wondered to herself how someone she found so compelling, so interesting, so appealing could equally infuriate her so quickly.

"CAPTAIN," she said loudly, "Obviously you have not read past the headline. My text is entirely focused on the need for women to join together, with one voice, AGAINST the unrelenting, and if I might say, ineffective male supremacy found in the Schooner Bay City Council. I might suggest you read the whole article, before you put your ghostly foot in your ghostly mouth!"

Turning briskly he stood, mouth opened in surprise, "Madam! Clearly I have overestimated you – but surely we can compromise here before these misbegotten thoughts are published."

Standing quickly, she tapped the papers, and tucked them briskly into a folder. "Too late. It is in today's paper already, in fact I look forward to seeing it in print when I have my breakfast in a few minutes. I heard Martha bring the paper in a few minutes ago, in fact!"

Giving him a tight smile, she nodded and slipped out the door and with a satisfied smile stepped quickly downstairs. Carolyn would have been surprised to see his face, as he watched her go out of their master cabin. His grin still lingered there as her steps echoed downstairs. "I adore how she still has no idea that I have infinitely more faith in her than she can possibly imagine." The sound of his gentle laugh filled the room as he disappeared from sight.


	8. Not So Desperate Hour

Smirking to himself, he stood by the seawall with a wide stance and arms firmly crossed over his chest in a most satisfied manner as the truck rumbled down the road, smoke billowing from its tailpipe. "That television is merely a temporary distraction, a siren's call that distracts you from the real meaning of life," Daniel Gregg muttered to himself. "If I were still alive," he began, but paused looking back toward the lights there in the parlor of Gull Cottage. He stopped himself, shaking his head slowly. "Yet, if I _**were** _alive, in fact, none of them would be here at all. It's a wonder that we're together in any fashion. Is it so very wrong for me to want them to do more than stare at that blasted flickering screen? To want them to be part of my life, or at least what remains of life?"

His thoughts of how he wished his world, his 'family' would be working filled his mind, as he paced back and forth. His stalking in front of the seawall paused when the Captain heard the phone ringing. "Blast!" he shouted, moving quickly and slamming a hand on top of the pillar by the gate, "I would have hoped that Henry, that TV repair person would have taken the hint to be gone." Listening carefully he sighed, "$18 portal to portal, what an effrontery! Why in all the heavens is it so very difficult to get her to pay attention? Garrah!" he grumbled. 'But no matter the explanation, no doubt, she'll find a way to disagree,' he thought as he disappeared to join her in the entryway...


	9. Medium Well-Done

Smiling to herself, as the sunshine began to fill the front parlor at Gull Cottage, Carolyn stretched out her hands before tackling another dauntingly blank piece of paper. Throughout the morning, ideas for a new story proved elusive, mainly due to the way her mind kept returning to the lovely events of the previous evening, once the criminals who had broken into their home were roughly escorted back to jail.

She had not entirely understood the full meaning of his response after she had agreed her need for independence did not require the Captain to always 'stand aside'. In fact, as she recalled the moment when she looked up at him, saying, "If you ever again feel the need to help, please be my guest." She hadn't realized that the 'help' he had in mind was so personal, so very, so completely. . . "satisfying" she whispered aloud.

Looking down she rolled her eyes, seeing the overlapping hearts she had doodled on the page of the notebook on her lap. "This is never going to pay the rent," she muttered wadding the page up into a ball and tossing it near the wastepaper bin, "wish there was a way to put my real life adventures into print, now THAT would be a story that would sell, but even Feminine View might reject it as too 'racy', she grinned to herself.

Rolling another piece of paper into the typewriter again, she gasped feeling his invisible hand on her shoulder, and a long nuzzling kiss along her neck. "If it's racy you have in mind, my dear," she heard him whisper, "perhaps. . ." Startled as Martha opened the front door, she turned quickly and felt the Captain disappear at the same time. Shaking her head, she thought how much she preferred, or rather they both preferred their changing relationship as equals, sharing challenges and moments of happy teasing. "As well as other interesting activities," she muttered while beginning to type again, Sighing, she rejected the page, wadded it up and smiled as Scruffy grabbed it to add it to the growing pile in the wastebasket.


	10. Surprise Party

The Captain, perched at the desk in the master captain, kept trying to set up the ship in a bottle for Jonathan's birthday the next morning. The thumping noise coming from the closet where Carolyn Muir had removed herself kept catching his attention, and prompted him to call out, "M'dear? Surely I might prevail upon you to secure some peace or at least privacy for now?" Stepping out of the closet in her favorite yellow negligee, while she tied the satin bow at her throat, she looked up at him slyly. "So which is it you most desire Captain, privacy or peace?" Smiling, he slowly walked toward her. "Well, if you intend to ask the question, attired as you are, in a floating whisp of yellow fluff, privacy would indeed be preferred, if only one option is allowed."

Returning the smile, she nodded quietly, "Yet, if we pursue privacy, how will you ever complete the ship in a bottle for Jonathan's birthday tomorrow?"

"Indeed Mrs. Muir," he grinned back at her, "I might allow a small delay, if you can promise privacy might follow the completion of my task?"

"Oh, I can indeed promise that my Captain," she nearly purred, "I believe, I can promise that any delay would and could be entirely compensated for in a complete, and immense fashion. Would that suit your request?"

"That it would, Mrs. Muir," he offered with a raised, suggestive eyebrow.

"Glad to hear that," she responded. She stepped toward him, but he stopped and held up his work in progress. "Madam, let me adjourn to another spot in the house, as I cannot guarantee that I can focus on the effort at hand in a timely fashion."

She watched him disappear, shipwork and bottle in hand. "Oh, he'll be back, sooner or later." She smiled. And tucking herself under the covers of her bed, she let herself rest, knowing he'd return there, with her, soon enough.


	11. The Firehouse Five plus Ghost

"Come now," she heard his voice rumble softly behind her, as he stood at the binnacle. "It's a glorious day, even with a slight chill in the air. Surely we might enjoy a quiet walk together?" Eyes shining, even without looking his direction, Carolyn Muir allowed herself to imagine all that he might intend in that 'quiet walk'.

"My dearest Captain," she said to the air in front of her, "the children are already all too aware of the 'private' time we spend together, and especially Candi is beginning to make assumptions." Moving quickly to her side, he said softly into her ear, "It isn't an assumption, if she's right," grinning to himself as he watched her quiver with anticipation at his approach. "Very well then," he continued, moving in front of the desk, stopping to look intently into her eyes. "That's a very minor barrier. Take that furry pest with you and say you are driving up to Pillar Point to enjoy a dog walk, and to gain a bit of inspiration for your latest creative effort. Surely that might set the hounds of inquiry aside for a while?"

Nodding to herself, she picked up Scruffy, and to his happiness, plopped him onto her lap and began scratching his ears thoughtfully. "The dog? You want me to use Scruffy as a 'beard'? Seems unfair to make him be the scapegoat for my deserting my family AND my work, when you're the one who wants us to have a, what did you say, 'quiet walk'?"

Smiling, he nodded toward the curly haired dog, "So Scruffy, what do you say? How about a walk?" Shooting out of Carolyn's lap, the dog scrambled down the stairs, and they heard him barking and dancing happily at the front door.

"That's dirty pool," Carolyn growled, with a twinkle in her eye. "Come now Madam, you don't have the heart to disappoint someone who is so excited just to be with you, do you?" Standing, she walked to the closet, and pulled out her jacket, "And is that Scruffy or you?" she said as she slipped quickly out the door and down the stairs.

"Rather both, I should think," the Captain laughed, delighted to have gotten her entire attention. He paused at the window, watching Scruffy fly into the front seat of the car, and waving as Carolyn gave him a departing smile as she started up the road to their favorite private retreat.

As she disappeared from view, he heard Martha and the children gathering in the parlor. "How in the world do you expect to start a fire that way," Martha scolded. "I don't think we can," Jonathan offered, "you know the chimney is broken. We haven't had a fire in a long, long time!" "We wouldn't ask if it weren't kinda cold," Candi offered, "you think Claymore could get it to work?"

Sighing, Martha picked up the phone, "Asking Claymore for help is always a risk, but let's give it a try, shall we?" Before he had to face his ersatz nephew again, the Captain disappeared, to wait at Pillar Point, for what surely would be a most rewarding morning.


	12. The Spirit of the Law

"I recall a similar morning, when the horizon was obscured, just as it is today, the whole world was hidden within a wall of mist, and it felt as if we were powerless to make any kind of progress, or even change." Watching Carolyn continue to peer silently at her typewriter, a pencil softly tapping on the side of the machine, he sighed. 'Honestly, how can I be of any assistance if she won't even attend to my advice?' Feeling the silence, Carolyn turned slightly and gave the Captain a distracted smile, "Don't put on that face my Captain," she scolded gently, turning back to her work. "There are some things I need to work out for myself, and working my way off the lee shore of a story idea is just part of the job, but don't think I don't appreciate the effort, I do!" she finished blowing him a kiss to where he stood at the balcony door.

"Yet M'dear," he smiled, stepping closer, "haven't you learned that by now, there is nothing we cannot achieve if we work together?" Nodding, she stood and rested her hand in the air, near the side of his face. "Oh Daniel, trust me, you've convinced me that nothing is impossible with the right partner." Discomforted by the feeling that he would blush if he kept her gaze ('and how is that possible in my incorporeal state?' he wondered) he looked down and cleared his throat loudly. Turning away for a moment, he noticed a truck pulling up to the front of Gull Cottage.

"Looks like your battle with that 'lee shore' may have to wait," he said thoughtfully watching a uniformed man step out of the official looking vehicle. He saw Candi scurry up to the man and begin chatting animatedly. He stood a while, as the man set up what looked like surveying equipment and began to scan the area around the house while answering the girl's questions. "Yet, perhaps something new on your horizon might help fuel the creative process, let me see what's going on below decks, and let you return to your efforts." With that he disappeared, and was unable to see Carolyn's grin, "I knew his curiosity would get the better of him," she chuckled. Yet, she barely had a moment to type a new line before Candi came clattering into the Master Cabin. "Mom, how do you add 1/3 and 1/4 of two acres?"


	13. Puppy Love

"Now Captain, I honestly think you are over reacting," Carolyn said slowly, as she prepared another zinnia to be potted. "Surely an athletic young girl these days should be able to play and be active, don't you agree?" "Perhaps," the tall figure of Captain Gregg grumbled from his perch on the rock wall beside her, "but in the company of nothing but young men, and so many of them. It isn't seemly."

Laughing as she brushed the dirt from her hands, she smiled fondly up at him. "Somehow, in all this time and in all our many conversations, I never realized exactly how much you sound like my mother, that is until now." Shaking her head slowly, she patted the earth around the base of the plant, grinning to herself as she watched his bluster built up steam.

"Your Mother? Your Mother! Madam, surely you are not equating me with an old woman are you?" "Well, obviously not in looks," she said, allowing herself a side glance up at him, "but you sound like her, and by the way, she wouldn't thank you for calling her old, I have to say." As he pushed off the wall and began pacing quickly along the walkway, Carolyn allowed herself another peek at his handsome figure. 'Alive or not,' she thought, 'I have to admit, I do get a lot of fun out of teasing him this way.' "Surely Madam," he paused, leaning close to her, "you don't really consider me so far out of date, do you?"

Unable to see the concern in his eyes with the sun at his back, Carolyn gave him a studied glance and shook her head slowly again, "Out of date, oh certainly not. You fit in exactly right, or you would if it were a hundred years ago or so."

"Well then," he said quietly, "I see Candy's group of young friends approaching. Time for me to depart." Unaware that her tease had gone awry, Carolyn thought nothing more about their exchange (but over the course of the day, she came to realize that she had caused him a substantial amount of unease. Of course she made that up to the Captain, but that is another story) as the approaching children called out, "Hi Mrs. Muir!" "Hi kids!" she answered. "Candy!" she called into the house, "The gang's here!"


	14. Host to the Ghost

"Ah hem," the handsome figure of Captain Daniel Gregg grumbled all too loudly, as he stood expectantly on the balcony. Despite their recent, more intimate connections, he made himself pause before entering every morning now. Granted, it took an immense toll upon his patience, as well on his desires, but he did not want Carolyn Muir to believe in any way he took her or their newly found and appreciated closeness for granted. So there he stood, hands clasped behind his back, waiting for her to respond to his call, and open the balcony doors so he might enter the Master Cabin to be with her.

On her side, Carolyn delighted in the mannered approach, the courtly behavior he now evinced each morning. Even though she would not have objected to his appearance at any time, she found his need to wait for permission, to pause before approaching her as the day began, a wondrous gift. So she paused, artfully arranging the neckline of her champagne colored nightgown and robe, before opening the French doors with a flourish that warm spring morning.

Walking past him, she strode out onto the 'upper deck' as he preferred to call the balcony and leaned onto the railing there watching the gulls call and the waves break upon the rocks below reviling in knowing that he was there watching her as well.

And he did indeed watch her with rapt appreciation. Finally he stepped closer to her and murmured into her ear, "Madam, just because you are seeking protection from those unnamed 'Heartbreakers' you indicated yesterday morning, surely you do not expect me to bypass any and all actions and behaviors that might gain me that disreputable title?"

Looking over her shoulder, she tossed her hair a bit, and grinned, "Well, are you asking me to identify which behaviors would . . ." "BLAST," Martha startled them as she shouted below from her stance next to the water hose. "I can't water the lawn until I finish the laundry. When will this bedraggled mess of a house allow me to run things efficiently and the way I need it to run?"

With honest dismay and disbelief, the Captain turned to his lady. "Surely Madam, she cannot be allowed to besmirch my home this way," he said with asperity. "The house of a seaman should always be considered the very essence of efficiency!" "Perhaps in your day my Captain" Carolyn offered gently, but with conviction, " but this is not your day. Stand close and you may learn something about the state of your 'command'," she sighed, heading into the closet, to get ready to begin her day and face Gull Cottage, not as he would wish it were, but as it was. And perhaps that too might bring them closer, if he were willing it be so.


	15. The Ghost of Christmas Past

When he thought about it later, he knew the idea had begun as they stood shoulder to shoulder that day leaning against the kitchen sink. Laughing, resting again against one another as Claymore finally agreed, "All right you'll have your double socket in the morning." It was then he finally, completely understood they were one. A family in fact, if not in actual formal, official structure.

The reality filtered through his mind and thoughts as fall became winter. The snow began to fall and Christmas began to approach. And as the season progressed, Captain Daniel Gregg began to muse about Christmastime and the unlived life he wished for with Carolyn Muir and the rest of the family.

Snow was just starting to fall late that morning as Carolyn Muir was rummaging around in her closet. Hearing her bumping about the Captain appeared there in the Master Cabin. "Madam, may I be of assistance?" he called. Without a word, disheveled, she emerged with a bulky jacket in hand.

He watched, first wishing he were able to smooth her hair, and the next wishing he didn't have to say the obvious comment about her choice of wardrobe. Eyebrow raised, he stopped and finally blurted, "You're wearing that?" Catching his meaning, Carolyn briefly glanced down and then looked up again with courage. "I know," she said, nodding in agreement, as she slipped on the jacket and spun about. "Not the most fashionable thing I own, but by far the warmest I possess for hunting Christmas trees."

"Indeed," be paused without further comment. "So time for a Christmas tree is it? I recall the day when trees where to be found on the hill behind Gull Cottage. All one required was a hearty constitution and a sharp axe. I gather times have changed?" "Indeed," she smiled in return. "I suspect that the local constable would take umbrage if you walked through the woods with a sharp weapon these days." There was a long second of silence as they stood looking at one another. "I imagine you are correct," the Captain finally offered. "And yet, I would have enjoyed having us bring a tree home together, wouldn't you?"

Sighing loudly, so he understood she shared his dismay, she gave him a soft glance. "Oh there are so many things we would have all enjoyed together." She buttoned up her jacket and looked his way before heading down stairs. "But since our dreams can't come true, I suspect we need to handle things today, as best we can."

As she quietly whisked out the door and down the stairs, he nodded to himself and moved to the window to watch as Jonathan, Candy and even Scruffy all slid happily into the car. With a final glance his way, Carolyn got into the car herself. The sound of a "We Wish You Merry Gentleman" began as they drove away.

He resisted for a moment, before moving to the telescope to watch them drive down the hill. "A dream . . ." he murmured to himself as he watched them disappear out of sight. As they left his view, he moved to sit there at the desk, and began to craft a Christmas gift that might finally allow him to share all that he would wish, would dream for them together, had fate provided a different, better set of circumstances for them all.


	16. Ladies Man

Standing next to his stove, Claymore Gregg kept muttering underneath his breath. "It is NOT impossible! I've seen it. I KNOW it is possible to find the right person – if they can do it so can I!" Pausing as the milk began to steam, he poured it into his favorite cup with a dash of sugar and cinnamon. Putting the aluminum saucepan into the sink, he filled it with cold water to soak, and turning off the kitchen light, he slowly scuffed along back to his bedroom.

He set the oversized mug on the mat on his bedside table. Watching the steam curl upwards, he recalled the first time he had seen it, it had been purchased as a souvenir during a trip he and his mother had taken to the Delaware Water Gap in late July before she died the following year.

As he did every evening, he straightened the bills in his wallet, and looked woefully at the day's receipts from the various food stands. It seemed so unfair. He had been called upon to spend exactly $8 and 43 cents on such a miserable evening. Granted he should have been able to call it a date, but clearly Amelia had only agreed to go out to get a solid meal, not for any desire to spend time with him at all.

Crawling under his covers, he took the mug in hand. Blowing on the warm milk, he recalled another meal, one that presented a very different version of romance. Even now he wasn't sure if it was the Captain inspired dream or the actual meal Martha had prepared the day that 'Slugger' was returned to his family. All Claymore knew, was that without question he had witnessed something between the Captain and Carolyn Muir. Two people who didn't even share the same state of being had found one another, and were happily, and if he was right, were even passionately able to find one another.

Draining the mug, he set it carefully aside, and shook his head. "IF she can make it work with a ghost and be so happy, so content, there isn't a reason in the world why I shouldn't make some kind of connection with a living, breathing human woman, wouldn't you think?" Deciding to be a rebel just for this night, he reached over to turn off bedside table light without even brushing his teeth. Pulling the covers up to his chin, he tried to stop thinking about the woeful evening and instead focused on tomorrow when he would to go visit Carolyn Muir, to talk about what had happened and hopefully to receive some advice that might help him find the kind of happiness she and the Captain had clearly found together.


	17. Not So Faust

Hanging up the phone there in the entryway, a deep frown appeared on Carolyn Muir's face. Her hand still resting on the receiver, she tried to imagine exactly what was prompting Claymore's sudden visit. "May I be of any assistance?" the Captains voice slipped up behind her, as she felt the inevitable goose bumps roll up her arm. 'Someday,' she thought to herself, 'I'll find a way to hear that voice and not feel like a love struck teenager.' Turning to look up into his attentive blue eyes, she sighed to herself, knowing that this would not be that day. At the same moment she began to tell him about the expected visit by his faux nephew, Claymore was tapping a stack of papers together on his desk. Thoughtfully he carefully slid a paper clip onto the stack and frowned. "I have every right; surely they know I NEED to make a small profit, from time to time anyway. But 'ol spook face won't agree, I know he won't." Wincing a bit at the thought of the inevitable confrontation, he stood, straightened his shoulders, and lifted his chin a bit. Nervously he tapped at the desktop, with a sudden awareness he looked down at his hand, and then he lifted his hand in front of his face, and turned it from side to side in amazement.

"YES!" he shouted, "it's perfect, just slide my hand over the new payment terms and she'll never notice." With a confidence wiggle of his shoulders, he picked up the lease agreement and walked briskly out to the car.


	18. Tourist Go Home

"You're off to that bedraggled excuse of a museum? What in perdition might compel you to take the children on that wasted excursion?" Rolling her eyes at the expected dismissal of her plan to stop by what was once the Schooner Bay museum, Carolyn just sighed as she stepped into the closet to change. "You know," she called to the Captain behind the closed door as she whacked her elbow on the coat hook on the right, "ONE, you seriously should have made this closet MUCH bigger and TWO, you have no right to complain about the lack of a decent museum that is able to record the town's history. You and the rest of the people alive during Schooner Bay's heydays could have very well captured and curated the highlights of that amazing period. The fact you left it to others less suited . . ." she grinned as she stepped out, buttoning the last button on her suit, "less suited to the task, well, that's almost like you willingly left it to your heir to take on the job. At least that's how Claymore has explained it to everyone else in town."

Standing at attention by the binnacle, the Captain blustered, "MADAM, that inept insect is no more my heir than you are!" Stepping up to his side, she looked up quietly. "Yet if you had an heir, if it had been possible. If you could have had a family, like the one we have today. Surely you would have wanted them to know what Schooner Bay had been, had meant to this part of Maine, wouldn't you have?"

Transfixed, the Captain felt his ire melt away as he focused on her eyes, on the unspoken world they shared, the world where the two of them might have, wished it were possible and should have created together in the world of reality. "Touché M'dear," he said quietly, "very well, if you must, I give you my leave in this small way, to bring our reality to the world that might have been."

Resting her hand nearly onto his shoulder, she reached up and put the ghost of a kiss on his lips. "Perhaps one day we'll understand why it wasn't our fate Daniel, but for now, let's do what we can, all right?"

Leaning forward, and resting his forehead near hers, he merely nodded. "On your way then M'dear. I'll check in with you in a bit."

Taking up her purse, she turned and headed out the door and down the stairs. "Blast," she muttered aloud. "What in the world lead me here? A widow once in the real world and unable to even be a widow to the man I really want. Blast indeed!"


	19. No Hits, No Runs, No Oysters

Peering up from her typewriter, Carolyn grinned to see the Captain pacing behind her, only stopping for a second or two to gaze out the telescope. "Captain" she said softly, "your pacing isn't helping my editing, and neither is it helping Jonathan with his baseball tryouts."

She turned as he stopped, so he couldn't see the twinkle in her eye. "After all, we agreed that neither of us would attend. There is enough pressure without living up to family expectations." "MADAM," she almost felt the grumble in his voice as he began to pick up steam. "Jonathan is certainly able to attend to his own sports, surely you do not intend to say that 'I' am unduly concerned . . ." His diatribe suddenly ceased, and at the sudden pause, she finally turned to look up at him. "Captain?" she asked, unable to quite interpret his expression, as he turned and walked away from her to sit with a pronounced thump in the corner chair by the fireplace.

Clearly, he was bemused by something, his expression was gentle, almost wistful, yet quietly happy at the same time. Pulling up the footstool, Carolyn settled beside him, and reached out a hand, letting it rest a whisper always from his own. "Captain Gregg? Where are you right now?" she asked curiously.

Looking up, he brought her face into focus. "Here, with you, M'dear. Nothing to be concerned about, so set that worried look on your face to rest, if you would." "I'd be delighted," she smiled, "but first you would need to tell me what's going on in your mind right now. As you know, we both have found it far better to ask than assume what the other is thinking, feeling. Or are we re-creating our relationship again?"

Laughing he shook his head, "Heaven forefend that you and I traverse that path again. And as promised, if you ask, I must respond." Reaching out, he let his fingers trail across her face. Closing her eyes, she gave herself time to focus, to sense the connection. Her satisfied sigh told him she had been able to 'feel' him again, and while it wasn't everything he would wish, he was grateful they had connected at last. "If only practice for Jonathan had this kind of. . . what did you call it?" the Captain asked, "an upside?"

"I'm not sure quite sure I'd want Jonathan to exactly have_** this**_ kind of upside," she grinned up at him, "but I think I understand what you mean. It's true, he and baseball are not having a happy connection, at least not lately. But no changing the subject Daniel Gregg, back to your feelings, if we could?" "Indeed," he paused, appreciating yet again what a joy it was to have this woman not just in his life, but at the center of it, as she always should have been, "you caught me by surprise when you said he didn't need to live up to 'family expectations.'" "Yes, I think he needs a bit of space to . . OH!"

Leaning forward, he concentrated on placing a single ghostly kiss against her lips, "Family – you use the word so easily, with no concern, yet it still is new to me. All in all quite a precious gift. It's that realization that touched me M'dear."

Wiping a tear away from her eye, Carolyn hoped her smile, and the finger she rested against his lips communicated how much she treasured this latest revelation. "Our boy will be home soon," she offered. Sliding back she returned to her typewriter, and the Captain with a wry smile, returned to his pacing on the deck, waiting for their boy to return.


	20. Dig for the Truth

"And so, you intend to be the official scribe for this miscreant, this teller of false tales, do you?" the Captain growled behind her, as she tried to work on her story about the founding of Schooner Bay Grammar School.

Thankful he stood behind her, and that the rolling of her eyes wasn't obvious, she allowed herself the required count up to 10 before responding. As much as she adored this man, as much as their relationship brought her more joy than she had ever imagined, she could not quite understand why he somehow found it impossible to let a single day go without making her blood boil (and not in a good way, she thought with a sly smile).

"Ten," she whispered aloud. "Captain! One of us was hired to write this history, did I miss something, perhaps you were the one they meant to do this work." She spun about to see him looking down, with a broad smile that was on the very of outright laughter. "WELL?" she said sternly.

Frustrated that she was unable to keep her heart from fluttering as he slowly bent over her and brought his lips to her ear, she fought to keep her face serious at least and hopefully impassive. "Getting to ten isn't going to be long enough this time, M'dear," he teased. "I'm right, and I know I'm right, no amount of righteous author indignation will dissuade me."

With that, he disappeared, his laughter hovering in the air after him. "BLAST," Carolyn hissed aloud, letting her tension escape. And with another roll of her eyes, she returned to the typewriter, unaware that the Captain was taking a fresh tack, this time with Miss Stoddard's pupils in the parlor below.


	21. Pardon My Ghost

"I promised," the Captain whispered to himself, "I told her that I would trust her to control, to deliver her own fate, even if I thought I could, should be of insistence, or at least not until she asks."

It took a great deal of resolve to stand quietly, invisibly as Carolyn Muir pulled out file after file from the desk. "Taxes," she murmured, "total and absolute rubbish. But necessary to keep a working mother out of jail, so I'd better get down to it." The Captain winced as she juggled the ungainly pile of folders and forms and as she stood, files precariously balanced on one knee, she just barely managed to open the bedroom door (with the slightest ghostly assistance) and make her way carefully downstairs.

Hands clasped behind his back, he paced, listening carefully, making sure she had safely completed the trek downstairs and had landed safely in the parlor with only a small scattering of documents in her wake. This indeed was one of the more difficult parts of their evolving relationship, her insistence that she was quite able to handle all the onerous duties of life.

It was only after he heard the children on their way to school, and Martha back to her household duties that he was willing to return to her side. Honestly, he knew there was little he might offer by way of assistance with her 20th century tax preparation, but he wanted to be there to offer what support he might. "It's unconscionable," he growled, "no widow; no mother of two small children left on her own should be so burdened by the government." Smiling to himself, he thought that might well be a perspective she would welcome, and rehearsing that phrase, disappeared to join her in the parlor.


End file.
